As the numbers of destitute migrants, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan, continue to arrive into Vienna locals are doing what they can to help.

Amongst them is David O’Connor from Naas, who owns the popular O’Connor Old Oak pub in the city. This week he set up ‘Expat and Austrian aid for Refugees’ to gather goods, food and toiletries for the thousands of people now kept in the Traiskirchen refugee camp – some 40 kilometres outside Vienna.

He told Independent.ie: “We just felt we had to do something to help. A few of the lads went out to the refugee camp and said the conditions were very tough and there was obvious over-crowding. My girlfriend Alex and I, along with John Milner from Bantry, decided to put out an appeal to the expat community.”

And within days David, who’s been in Vienna for four years, says he’s been inundated with aid.

Barbed wire is seen as migrants enter Macedonia near Gevgelija after crossing the border with Greece, September 1, 2015. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

“Our intention is to deliver what we’ve gathered every Saturday and the way we’re going we’ll easily fill two transit vans full of aid each weekend. The word is spreading and every day we are seeing more support from the expat community for which we’re very grateful. It’s an unprecedented migration crisis and people need to help, not just governments,” said David.

The sizeable Irish community in the city has already rolled up their sleeves to assist the charitable group.

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"Countries such as Ireland need to step up to the plate now and show leadership. Of course we must accept more refugees as do most other countries across Europe.

"The Irish people want to help and so the government must up their game.”

Last week the bodies of 71 refugees were found inside a lorry dumped by the side of the road in Austria. Fifty-nine men, eight women and four children, the youngest a one-year-old girl - suffocated after being abandoned in a truck on a motorway near Vienna.